


Why Don't We Fall in Love

by suluism



Series: Be A Place That I Call Home [1]
Category: EXO (Band), 소녀시대 | Girls' Generation | SNSD
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, M/M, Modern Royalty, News Media, Social Media, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2016-11-25
Packaged: 2018-09-02 02:18:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8647894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suluism/pseuds/suluism
Summary: Junmyeon probably should have known better, but to be honest, he was a little drunk. And by the time he was sober, the news was plastered on every screen across the nation: PRINCE JUNMYEON’S SOUL MARK REVEALED. Soulmate + Modern Royalty AU.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Like my last fic, this is meant to be a vaguely-British monarchy. Somehow I can't stop writing about royals and social media inserts.

Junmyeon isn’t the kind of prince to get drunk in public. Just ask his cousin, Jongdae, who is far more likely to be caught drag racing at 3 AM and charming his way out of a traffic ticket. He’s the one who’s always plastered across everyone’s news feed for some reason or another – usually bad behaviour and subsequent apologies, followed by a charitable donation or two.

“I’m just a fun-loving guy,” Jongdae would say. “It’s not like anyone cares about what I do compared to _you_.”

And there’s the rub. As second in line for the throne after his father, it’s usually easier for Junmyeon to just follow along with what his PR agent, Minseok, says. People call him the “boring prince”, which is exactly what he wants. Being boring means he isn’t making anyone mad or drawing any critical attention to himself. It means fading comfortably into the background until he’s almost normal.

Being boring also means having a lot of pent-up stress that eventually erupts.

Of course, it all happens because of Jongdae. Because it’s always because of Jongdae.

A night of stealthy pub hopping leads to a very, very drunk Junmyeon who wobbles around on two legs as Jongdae eggs him towards a park for a game of catch with a ball he found who-knows-where. He drops it when he notices a decently-sized duck pond where a few equally-drunk people are already splashing around.

 _This is definitely an arrest waiting to happen_ , Junmyeon thinks. But the cocktail of, well, cocktails in his stomach is swirling around in an imitation of bravery. They lost Chanyeol and Sehun somewhere along the maze of alleyways they took to get here, and the bodyguards are no doubt looking for them right now.

Jongdae doesn’t even wait for Junmyeon before stripping to his underpants and running straight into the water, cackling like it’s his first time being drunk. He calls out to Junmyeon, who’s just sober enough to notice people starting to pull out their phones in recognition, but not quite sober enough to care.

The voice in his head, that sounds a lot like Minseok, is whispering that this is a terrible idea.

But Jongdae is still calling out to him, so he strips down and jumps in after him.

The water feels like getting punched straight through the ribs and into the squishy bits underneath. All he can hear is his heart beat, pounding in his ears like the beating of drums. Something about the world beneath the water seems muffled, dream-like. Quiet, in a way his life rarely is.

It’s only Jongdae’s hand on his arm that gets him to re-surface. He’s met with the flashes of smartphones and Jongdae’s serious face. He begins to wonder if Jongdae is really as drunk as he seemed.

“We gotta get outta here,” Jongdae says, and pulls him towards the shore and his clothes.

Dozens of glowing screens light up the darkness as people take photos, share them, tag them, send them off to whoever wants to see –

And, of course, everyone wants to.

A good ten hours later, he wakes up reeking of algae and booze. His phone is chirping with notifications, and he’s been in the game long enough to know it’s not a good sign.

He decides to start from the earliest text, presumably the one of most urgency.

It’s Minseok, whose text consists of a single link. The lack of commentary is not a good sign.

Junmyeon sighs, head pounding, and clicks the link.

 

* * *

 

 

> **PRINCE JUNMYEON’S SOUL MARK REVEALED**  
>  _The Morning Paper Online  
>  4:30 am | 4 September 2016_
> 
> Early this morning, Prince Junmyeon was spotted with cousin Jongdae Kim as they apparently engaged in a wild night. Photos from bystanders show the two royals jumping into a public duck pond in their underwear, and someone was lucky enough to get a snap of Prince Junmyeon’s notoriously-hidden soul mark.
> 
> Despite the low-quality of the photo, the mark resembles a star or constellation located across his collar bone.
> 
> While Duke Jongdae has been outspoken about his lack of desire to find his soulmate, going so far as make his playboy exploits known to the press, Prince Junmyeon has been suspiciously mum. He has even refused to comment on his hopes for his future relationship with his soulmate.
> 
> Already, many fans and royal-hopefuls are despairing online. Meanwhile, soulmate claims have come pouring in from across the globe.
> 
> When contacted, Prince Junmyeon’s representative declined to comment.

 

* * *

 

 

Baekhyun wakes up with the worst headache on Sunday morning. The sun shines watery and grey through his curtains, but it’s enough to make him groan and throw an arm over his eyes. He’s meant to go grocery shopping with Taeyeon, but now he’s thinking that he should just burrow himself into his bed forevermore.

“Baekhyun, you up?” The devil herself whispers through the door.

“Uuuuuugh,” Baekhyun groans back. The door clicks open and he can already sense the shit-eating grin on her face.

“It’s already noon. By now, all of the strawberries are sold out.” She pats his butt fondly, but it’s really more of a punch.

“My head really hurts,” Baekhyun whines, pulling the covers away to pout at her. “Can’t we go next week?”

Taeyeon smacks his butt again to the sound of Baekhyun’s pitiful yelp.

“I didn’t spend the week clipping coupons just for us to miss out on these sales. I have a client in three hours.” Taeyeon is already grabbing clothes from his closet and tossing them onto his prone body. “Wear some sunglasses and get over yourself.”

Baekhyun whines a little more, but he knows it’s a losing battle. The last time he and Taeyeon argued, she threatened to hide all his snacks. He didn’t believe her, and the next day he found all his favourite snack bags and boxes laid out on the table in a neat row, empty.

He’s generally tried to stay on her good side since then. Some may say he’s whipped, but he prefers to say that he has a healthy sense of self-preservation. One that ensures he will never have “FOOL OF A BYUN” tattooed on his ass by Taeyeon’s own hand.

Twenty minutes later, he and Taeyeon are strolling down the street to the nearest grocery store with several reusable grocery bags and a several coupons. Baekhyun has to keep a hold on Taeyeon’s arm as she stares down at her phone, trying desperately to catch a Gastly that’s perched on a parked car. As good as she is as adult things like paying taxes and scouting deals, she’s pretty bad at things like watching where she’s going.

“I’m not _obsessed_ ,” she defends whenever Baekhyun comments on her love of Pokemon Go. “I’m just trying to be the best ghost trainer there’s ever been.”

Baekhyun’s pretty sure that Taeyeon is just a goth girl hidden within in a stylish, blonde body. If she wasn’t covered in tattoos, Baekhyun would have mistaken her for one of those pristine pop idols.

“Yes!” Taeyeon gasps just as they pass the car and turn into the grocery store. She smiles down at her phone as she opens Twitter to share her catch and Baekhyun rolls his eyes fondly.

“Nice one,” he says. “Shall we split up?”

Taeyeon’s about to respond when her eyes widen at something on the screen.

“Please don’t tell me that Jessica posted another selfie,” Baekhyun jokes, shaking Taeyeon’s arm a bit. Usually a weak joke like that would warrant at least a wry smile, but this time she doesn’t respond.

He peers over at her screen in curiosity, but she shoves it back in her pocket.

“Baekhyun…” she looks up at him, hesitant.

“You’re scaring me a little,” Baekhyun chuckles nervously. Taeyeon grabs his right arm and pulls his sweatshirt sleeve down nervously, gripping it securely around his wrist.

“Baekhyun, it’s…” she swallows, eyes darting to his arm. Nothing like ripping a band-aid off quick. “Your soul mark. It belongs to Prince Junmyeon.”

At first, he’s sure she’s joking. But then...her nose scrunches up when she lies, and right now her grip feels like the elastic tie before the doctor drains blood.

The world narrows to the echo of Taeyeon’s words in his head. He can’t feel his legs. All he can feel is the slow pulsing of his soul bond in the back of his head, a constant, warm force that reminds him that he’s never alone.

This is all he’s ever wanted.

He feels a little hopeless.

“What are you going to do?” Taeyeon whispers, and Baekhyun only notices now that she’s stroking his hand, bringing him back to reality.

He takes a moment to take stock. He wiggles his toes, clenches and unclenches his fist. Flips his palm to take Taeyeon’s hand in his. Shoots her a weak smile.

“Well, I can’t exactly call him up, can I?” Baekhyun mutters.

“You must be able to contact him somehow. E-mail his PR person or something,” Taeyeon says.

“Just because it worked for you and Jessica doesn’t mean it’ll work for me,” Baekhyun shoots back, and Taeyeon recoils for a second, hurt. Before she can shoot back something sharp, with the kind of long-buried anger that comes from birthdays celebrated over Skype and fondness whispered across time zones, he says, “Sorry, that was low. I’m just on edge.”

Taeyeon sighs. “Jessica and I were lucky, but we still have problems.” Didn’t Baekhyun know it. Jessica was constantly jet-setting across the world for photoshoots and fashion shows and interviews as an up-and-coming model-turned-designer. She and Taeyeon barely had gotten to know each other before she had to head to Paris for a year to work on her new line, leaving Taeyeon behind to feel like this wasn’t quite the fairytale she was promised.

“I know. I just…” Baekhyun heaves a sigh. “This isn’t exactly how I imagined it.”

What he had imagined: meeting his soulmate on a walk down the street, in class, at the park, and being immediately loved and hopelessly so. What he had imagined: the love of his life making pancakes and painting walls and rolling next to him in bed. What he had imagined: growing old together, rocking chair-style, holding hands.

What he hadn’t imagined: being just another in a sea of people vying for the attention of a celebrity.

Taeyeon pats his arm remorsefully. “Let’s just get some food. I’ll buy you froyo after.”

Baekhyun can’t tell if the froyo is for celebration or condolences.

 

* * *

 

 

 

> **Celeb Scoop** @CelebScoopDotCom  
>  Prince Junmyeon’s soul mark is finally revealed! Should we expect wedding bells in the future? #SorryLadies  
>  _[attached: blurry photo of Junmyeon’s soul mark]_
> 
> 320 Retweets | 423 Likes  
>  10:22 AM - 4 Sept 2016
> 
>  
> 
> **Junmyeon Fan Club** @junlovely **  
> ** let’s all support junmyeon in his search for his soulmate! congrats!!!
> 
> 3,423 Retweets | 9,394 Likes  
>  10:28 AM – 4 Sept 2016
> 
>  
> 
> **Junmyeon’s GF** @ilujunjun **  
> ** @OfficialJunmyeon oMFG……………………….bye
> 
> 5 Retweets | 20 Likes  
>  10:35 AM - 4 Sept 2016
> 
>  
> 
> **mrs. junmyeon kim** @princepopper  
>  holy shit, guys! i’m junmyeon’s soulmate!!!!!!  
>  _[attached: photo of crudely-photoshopped soul mark]_
> 
> 29 Retweets | 89 Likes  
>  10:36 AM - 4 Sept 2016
> 
>  
> 
> **jongdae notice me** @eyebrowslant **  
> ** @princepopper lmfaooooooo nice try tho hun
> 
> 650 Retweets | 901 Likes  
>  10:38 AM - 4 Sept 2016

 

* * *

 

Junmyeon spends way too much time scrolling through Twitter mentions than is probably healthy. He would probably go straight back to bed if Chanyeol, Sehun, and Minseok hadn’t burst into his room with little warning.

“Never did I peg you as the stupid one, but I guess there’s a first for everything,” Sehun smirks, looking way too smug for a Sunday morning. “All your fans are jumping ship and swimming over to SS Sehun.”

“Shut up,” Chanyeol smacks the back of his head. “Can’t you see he’s hungover?”

“Yes, well, it’s less than he deserves,” Minseok says, arms crossed. “What were you even thinking? Public skinny-dipping is bad enough, but now every member of the royal family is being bombarded with questions about your soulmate.”

Junmyeon frowns. “I didn’t exactly ask for this.”

“Right, because it _wasn’t_ you stripping down to your skivvies in all the photos, right?” Minseok sighs. “We have two choices right now: seek out your soulmate or make a statement about taking your time.”

“If he took any more of his time he’d be a sloth,” Sehun scoffs.

“I want to meet my soulmate,” Junmyeon says, quietly but firmly. “But...it’s not exactly easy.”

“Like it’s easy for anyone else in the world,” Chanyeol grins. “That’s the fun of it, right?”

“There are a lot of claims already clogging up our communication channels with the public,” Minseok says. “It’s pretty easy to sort the real from the fake, but it’s time-consuming. At this point our best chance is waiting for your soulmate to contact us, hopefully with a few credible people to corroborate their story.”

“I’ll have to make a statement.”

“No, _I_ will,” Minseok sighs. “I’ll post it through all the official channels in an hour.”

He gets up to leave, phone already whipped out for drafting, when he turns back to Junmyeon with a wry smile. “You’re banned from alcohol for at least a month.”

Chanyeol giggles like a child watching their friend get sent to the principal’s office, but Junmyeon just shrugs. With any luck, he won’t be caught drinking for the rest of his life.

 

* * *

 

 

 

> **OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE**
> 
> Prince Junmyeon Kim would like to formally apologize for his misbehaviour yesterday in a public park. He expresses remorse at his undignified actions and will be taking time to reflect away from the public eye. Regarding the revelation of his soul mark, we ask that everyone respect his privacy at this time and not engage in speculation of his personal life.

 

* * *

 

Baekhyun has never been particularly interested in the royal family beyond retweeting a couple humanizing videos of the king frowning at sub sandwiches or appreciating the look of Jongdae’s abs in candid beach photos. Most of the royal family’s political power is symbolic these days, and if they do get involved it’s with overly-verbose speeches and carefully-crafted press conference statements.

Even so, Baekhyun finds himself falling down the rabbit hole of Prince Junmyeon’s social networking sites, which are so obviously run by someone else with the use proper grammar and reposts across all platforms. Then again, when he gazes at Junmyeon’s profile picture – a semi-candid snap of him planting a tree, blonde hair glowing almost white in the sunlight – he concludes that he looks like the kind of person to tweet with careful punctuation and capital letters.

Everything about Prince Junmyeon seems perfectly-crafted. There isn’t a single blurry selfie taken at a bar with friends or sabotage baby pic posted by a vengeful family member. The closest anyone’s gotten to criticizing this guy in the comments section of news articles (prior to last night, at least) is that he must be the fakest celebrity of all time.

Baekhyun can’t help but agree. You could put his photo in a picture frame at a drug store and no one would look twice.

It’s almost enough to make him give up. Not only is his soulmate a famous prince, but he’s also the most boring prince in the history of princes ever. Talk about a fairytale ending.

Luckily, Taeyeon had left him at home with his froyo to whine alone while she ran off to the studio to ink some guy who wanted his dogs’ names down his calf. She promised it would take an hour tops, but he can’t help but hope she stays out for longer so he can be left to wallow.

Somehow, though, something catches his eye on his Instagram feed.

Taeyeon had just posted an image, washed in one of those annoyingly artsy black and white filters. _Fearless_ , it reads in a simple script, split in the center by white space to read _Fear Less_.

_For a friend who needs some reminding of who he is. Now, stop moping on the couch and go after him!_

Baekhyun feels something warm rise up in his chest.

Whatever happened to the kid who swung off tree branches upside-down and knocked Taeyeon over with the force of his hug as he begged her to be his friend on the first day of school? Somehow he’d forgotten.

He pulls up Twitter.

If Junmyeon is determined to be the most boring prince ever, Baekhyun is determined to be the most annoying soulmate ever.

 

* * *

 

 

 

> **baekhyuney bee** @honeybaek **  
> ** @OfficalJunmyeon r u the most boring celebrity ever or what? at least post nudes
> 
> 0 Retweets | 24 Likes  
>  3:18 PM - 4 Sept 2016
> 
>  
> 
> **baekhyuney bee** @honeybaek **  
> ** @OfficalJunmyeon hey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ur soulmate’s trying to get ur attention!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> 0 Retweets | 4 Likes  
>  3:20 PM - 4 Sept 2016
> 
>  
> 
> **ghost trainer** @taeyawn **  
> ** @OfficialJunmyeon @honeybaek this is not what i meant when i said go after him
> 
> 0 Retweets | 10 Likes  
>  3:21 PM - 4 Sept 2016
> 
>  
> 
> **baekhyuney bee** @honeybaek **  
> ** @OfficalJunmyeon u look like a grain of rice that was left in the fridge for too long!!!!!!!
> 
> 0 Retweets | 19 Likes  
>  3:24 PM - 4 Sept 2016
> 
>  
> 
> **baekhyuney bee** @honeybaek **  
> ** @OfficalJunmyeon u better dm me today or im goin to the palace tomorrow n playing a boom box outside ur window n embarrassing u!!!!!!!!!
> 
> 0 Retweets | 29 Likes  
>  3:30 PM - 4 Sept 2016

 

* * *

 

Junmyeon is trying to sleep off the rest of his hangover (and his shame) when he gets a series of notifications from his phone. On the off chance that he somehow astral projected and caused another scandal in his sleep, he reaches over and swipes at the screen.

 

 

> **ROYAL PAINS B)**
> 
> _ Sun, Sept 4, 3:56 PM _
> 
> **sehunnie B)  
>  ** _o m f g hahahahahaha_
> 
> **sehunnie B)  
>  ** _pls read these tweets fhfhdhs_
> 
> **sehunnie B)  
>  ** _[link]_

He clicks the link with some hesitation. The last time Sehun sent him a mysterious link, it was to a video of a puppy with a digital rendering of Junmyeon’s pouting face plastered on it falling down an endless flight of stairs. Every time he pouted from then on, he was forced to relive the embarrassment.

The link is to someone’s Twitter profile, where they seem to have been ranting at him for several minutes. Most of the tweets are insults, but some are threats.

 

 

 

> **junmyeonnie :o  
>  ** _what is this_
> 
> **sehunnie B)  
>  ** _yixing sent it to me_
> 
> **sehunnie B)  
>  ** _he went to school w this guy_
> 
> **sehunnie B)  
>  ** _says he showed off his soul mark wherever he went_
> 
> **sehunnie B)  
>  ** _look, he’s legit_
> 
> **sehunnie B)  
>  ** _[photo of Baekhyun and Yixing, Baekhyun’s t-shirt revealing his soul mark]_
> 
> **chanyeollie :D  
>  ** _holy shit!!!!!!!!!!! u gotta go meet him!_

 

Junmyeon’s heart kicks energy through his veins. He’s found him, _finally_. Everything that was uncertain about his future suddenly seems to open up, the vague figure of his soulmate forming into the boyish face of Twitter user @honeybaek.

He feels excitement zip up his spine.

 

 

 

> **minseokkie -_-‘  
>  ** _don’t do anything stupid_

Minseok’s words give him what he needs to calm down for a moment. He pauses to gather his reason. He can’t exactly go running in the streets to find @honeybaek right now – he’s on lockdown after the stunt he pulled the other day, and he doesn’t even know the guy’s name, let alone where he lives.

His eyes land on the latest tweet where @honeybaek threatens to come to the palace.

It’s in his soulmate’s hands now.

 

* * *

 

Baekhyun isn’t expecting much to come out of his efforts when he plants his bottom down in front of the palace gates. It’s early in the morning on a Monday, so the only people milling around are tourists who snap photos of him, wondering if he’s some kind of performance artist. The two guards stationed at the gate don’t even spare him a glance.

It kind of rankles Baekhyun that they don’t even care to look at him.

A normal person might take that as their cue to leave before more people witness him doing something wild.

Baekhyun takes it as a challenge.

 

* * *

 

“There’s a guy singing on your front lawn right now.”

Junmyeon looks up from his phone to where Chanyeol is staring out the parlour window, enthralled with what is usually the sight of swarms of tourists.

“Like…a busker?” Junmyeon says. He’s been scrolling through @honeybaek’s Twitter, Instagram, and even his LinkedIn since last night. After hours of scrolling, he knows that Baekhyun rooms with a tattoo artist named Taeyeon, attended a middle-tier university, and is absolutely obsessed with taking photos of corgi butts at the park.

He also, apparently, has quite the voice.

Because when Junmyeon peers out the window, he sees @honeybaek singing at the top of his lungs through the bars of the front gate.

People have crowded around him, phones out as he causes a scene.

Junmyeon can’t help but smile, even as he tells Chanyeol to go get that fool and pull him inside.

 

* * *

 

 

 

> **plants are friends** @luckyone  
>  lmfaoooo look at this guy singing outside the palace rn  
>  _[attatched: video of Baekhyun singing]_
> 
> 1,230 Retweets | 3,204 Likes  
>  8:20 AM - 5 Sept 2016
> 
>  
> 
> **Prince Jongdae** @jongdamn **  
> ** @OfficialJunmyeon does this have something to do w u………
> 
> 4,230 Retweets | 9,204 Likes  
>  8:24 AM - 5 Sept 2016
> 
>  
> 
> **kaXING!** @xingxing **  
> ** @honeybaek why
> 
> 3 Retweets | 34 Likes  
>  8:25 AM - 5 Sept 2016
> 
>  
> 
> **ghost trainer** @taeyawn **  
> ** @honeybaek clearly nothing i say matters to u anymore…
> 
> 2 Retweets | 19 Likes  
>  8:26 AM - 5 Sept 2016
> 
>  
> 
> **Jessica Jung** @lovelyjess **  
> ** @taeyawn morning c:
> 
> 14 Retweets | 109 Likes  
>  8:27 AM - 5 Sept 2016

 

* * *

 

Baekhyun is just about to move onto the last (and most emotional) verse of the seminal classic “Total Eclipse of the Heart” when someone bursts through the palace’s front door and starts stalking towards him. He can hear the click of phone cameras around him as he pauses the backing track being blasted through his phone speakers.

The closer the figure gets, the more frightened he becomes. This certainly isn’t Junmyeon. This guy is tall and dressed in black with sunglasses. His ears are so big that he can probably hear Baekhyun’s heart pounding its way out of his throat right now.

“Come with me,” the man says in a low voice when he reaches the gates. He nods to the guards and pushes the gate open, letting Baekhyun through quickly as the onlookers fire messages into the stratosphere.

In a way, Baekhyun can’t even believe his stunt worked. Sure, this guy might be pulling him into the palace right now just to throw him in the dungeons, but the warmth at the back of his head is buzzing and he can feel himself getting closer.

The man drags him into some sort of parlour and invites him to sit down on one of the couches that looks like it costs more than his entire rent. Baekhyun sits on the very edge, worried that the long-dried paint stains on the back of his jeans might somehow rub off on what must be centuries-old upholstery. He takes a breath, tapping his fingers on his knees as if playing _Fur Elise_ will make time pass faster.

Then the doors are pushed open, and Baekhyun stands up to meet his soulmate for the first time.

He looks like a rice cake.

Baekhyun sure as hell hopes he didn’t choose his own outfit, because the guy is wearing white from head-to-toe. His icy blonde hair doesn’t help. The only splash of colour is his pink lips, which Baekhyun will concede do look quite handsome.

Prince Junmyeon seems to be taking stock of him as well, eyeing his pink hair and his ripped jeans and probably deciding that he looks too alternative next to the pristine ironed creases of his own dress shirt.

They stand in silence, staring at each other like they would a looking glass.

But Baekhyun has never been good at standing still.

“It sure took you long enough!” Baekhyun says loudly, placing both hands on his hips and trying in vain to puff up his chest like an angry adult. Prince Junmyeon flinches.

“I’m sorry…”

Baekhyun raises a brow, but the corner of his lips twitches upwards. “You know, the movies made this all look a lot more romantic. You’re supposed to say: I’ve been waiting my whole life for this. You’re the only one I’ve ever thought of. I’ll never forget this moment. The works.”

Prince Junmyeon looks pale, like he’s worried that he’s already messed up in the first two minutes.

Baekhyun stalks forward and takes his soulmate’s hands in his. They’re a little sweaty. Somehow, the prince is taller in real life, and Baekhyun has to tilt his head up a little.

“It’s alright. I guess that just means I’m the one who has to say it,” Baekhyun murmurs. He threads his fingers through Junmyeon’s and presses his forehead to his.

He closes his eyes with a smile, letting himself sit in the moment that he’s wanted ever since childhood. Since each friend paired off in school. Since Taeyeon found Jessica and cried through the night, but knew deep down that she was grateful. Since he saw a familiar mark on the cover of a newspaper, the one mirroring his own like the best promise in the whole world.

He’s so busy enjoying it, that he doesn’t notice the way Junmyeon looks at him like he can finally stop missing him.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from the song "Venice" by The Lighthouse and the Whaler, which is a very fun and whimsical little indie song. I may revisit this AU someday for slice-of-life fics, since there is much more that could be written.


End file.
